Seoul hits record; Asia gains broadly

ChrisOliver

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- South Korea rocketed to an all-time closing high Friday, leading a tech-oriented regional rally inspired by a share-buyback program from Samsung Electronics and earlier gains in the Nasdaq Composite.

In Seoul, the Kospi gained 1.94% to 1,432.72, climbing as index heavyweight Samsung
SSNGY, +0.00%
said it will buy back 1.66 trillion won ($1.73 billion) worth of common shares and 400,000 preferred shares during a three-month period starting from Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Japan's 225-issue Nikkei Average gained 34.67 points, or 0.2%, to 17,233.82, although the broader Topix ended flat, gaining 0.30 point to 1,744.07.

"Samsung announced a decent buyback and that seems to have catalyzed the Korean market," said Edward Bonsor, head of Japanese equity sales at CLSA in Tokyo.

Elsewhere in the region, shares in Taiwan and Shanghai were sharply higher. Markets in Hong Kong, New Zealand and Australia closed for Easter, and Indian markets were closed for a local holiday.

"I think expectations were rocked by LG.Philips LCD [earning earlier in the week], so the fact Samsung came out broadly in line and they announced quite a sizable buyback, it has been received quite positively," said Bonsor.

Rounding out the Korean action, automaker Hyundai Motor
HYMTF, -0.87%
was up 1.7%.

In Tokyo, technology issues tracked Samsung's gains, while oil-related shares advanced after crude futures rose to new highs in London trading Thursday, before settling back below the $70-a-barrel level in New York.

Shares of Cosmo Oil (5007) rose as much as 0.47%, while mining company Inpex Holdings (1605)
IPXJF
gained 1.62%.

However, financials were lower after the Financial Services Agency ordered consumer-loan company Aiful Corp. (8515) to suspend operations across its 1,700 outlets for 25 days, on the grounds of poor internal control and aggressive businesses practices.

Aiful shares fell their maximum daily limit, ending lower 12.19%. Loan company Promise (8574) was down as much as 5.58%.

Konica Minolta (4902)
KNCAF, -2.97%
gained 1.26% after the camera maker said it will spend 14 billion yen ($118 million) on new plant to boost production of components for liquid crystal display panels.

Also of note, scandal-tainted Internet startup Livedoor (4753)
LVDRF
was officially delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Friday, ending six years as a publicly traded company. Shares plunged 6.9% on Thursday, their final day of trade.

Taiwan leading index gained 1.4% to end at a two-year high, driven by broad based buying. A standout was chipmaker United Microelectronics
UMC, -0.54%
shares of which rose 4.2% on expectations of higher memory-chip prices in the upcoming quarters.

Shares comprising the tourism sub-sector gained sharply amid speculation an improvement in relations with China could spark a domestic tourism boom. The mainland regards Taiwan as a breakaway province.

Crude oil rose as much as 13 cents to $69.45 a barrel in Asian trading, adding to moderate gains seen in New York on Thursday, when the benchmark May crude contract added 70 cents to close at $69.32 a barrel

In the final session of a holiday-shortened week, U.S. stocks gained, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA, +0.24%
up 7.68 points, the Nasdaq Composite
$COMPQ
rising 11.43 points and the S&P 500
SPX, +0.23%
adding 1 point.

In currencies, the dollar edged up to 118.62 yen, reversing mild loses in New York trading, where the greenback was quoted at 118.45 yen at late session Thursday.

Intraday Data provided by SIX Financial Information and subject to terms of use.
Historical and current end-of-day data provided by SIX Financial Information. Intraday data
delayed per exchange requirements. S&P/Dow Jones Indices (SM) from Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
All quotes are in local exchange time. Real time last sale data provided by NASDAQ. More
information on NASDAQ traded symbols and their current financial status. Intraday
data delayed 15 minutes for Nasdaq, and 20 minutes for other exchanges. S&P/Dow Jones Indices (SM)
from Dow Jones & Company, Inc. SEHK intraday data is provided by SIX Financial Information and is
at least 60-minutes delayed. All quotes are in local exchange time.